DAVID “ROCKY” SILVA (Athlete, Class of 2002)

Rocky Silva earned a yellow belt in American Karate at the age of thirteen.  He followed up this achievement by becoming a black belt, first degree.

A member of the United States kick boxing team that twice competed in South Africa in the late 1980s, he was ranked among the top ten karate fighters in the United States in both 1988 and 1989.

Continuing to train with his instructor Master Ernie Thivierge (Master T), Rocky has earned black belts, second and third degrees, in American Karate and black belts, first and second degrees, in Combat Hapkido.

Rocky studied in Korea in 2000 and while there won an international tournament gold medal in Korean Forms. In that same year he was named to the Martial Arts Hall of Fame and honored as the Martial Arts Instructor of the Year.

Rocky has been the owner/operator of Rocky Silva’s American Karate School since 1990.